Overview
- On Wednesday, September 2, 2026, a federal judge declined the DOJ’s request to force sale of Google’s ad exchange, AdX, while the remedies phase remains unresolved.
- Judge Leonie M. Brinkema previously found on April 17, 2025, that Google unlawfully tied its publisher ad server, Google Ad Manager, to AdX in a way that locked publishers into using Google’s exchange.
- The court described Google’s conduct as self‑preferencing, meaning it favored its own ad exchange on the infrastructure publishers used, and said that harmed rival ad platforms and publisher customers.
- At remedies hearings the DOJ argued Google could not be trusted to run AdX, and Google countered that a forced sale would be technically complex and could disrupt publishers and advertisers.
- The choice of behavioral fixes over a breakup leaves industry change dependent on a forthcoming remedies order that will define interoperability rules, limits on self‑preferencing, compliance steps, and enforcement timing.